AEG settles with group threatening to block NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles

Settling the only major legal challenge to the Farmers Field football stadium, developer Anschutz Entertainment Group said Thursday it has reached agreement with a coalition of neighborhood and anti-poverty groups that was threatening to tie up the project.

The Play Fair at Farmers Field Coalition had filed a lawsuit to overturn state legislation that was intended to help the project resolve environmental challenges.

In return for the coalition dropping the suit, AEG will set up a $15 million Housing Trust Fund to pay for affordable housing near the stadium. The deal will fund affordable units in the Pico-Union, South L.A. and downtown neighborhoods, the parties said in a statement.

Receipt of most of the money is contingent on the football stadium being built, said Becky Dennison, executive director of Los Angeles Community Action Network, an anti-poverty group and coalition member.

But around Dec. 1, AEG will pay $250,000 into the trust, regardless of the status of the project.

The creation of the fund is a "substantial benefit," Dennison said in a phone interview Thursday. She believed that city officials and AEG officials earlier had ignored the concerns of residents of neighborhoods like Pico-Union.

"This ensures that the surrounding communities won't be impacted by the project," Dennison said.

An AEG spokesman confirmed the $15 million figure but declined to discuss details of the deal.

The coalition's lawsuit marked the only major legal challenge to AEG's proposed 72,000-seat stadium. In August, the coalition filed a lawsuit to overturn a controversial law crafted last year to help the stadium. The legislation by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, states that all challenges on the stadium's environmental impact report must be resolved within 175 days.

Some environmental groups spoke out against the law, stating it circumvented the normal planning process.

But AEG officials said the legislation was necessary to avoid costly and lengthy lawsuits, which could make officials at the National Football League wary of bringing a team to Los Angeles.

On Thursday, Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, called the agreement with the coalition an "important milestone."

"For the first time in almost two decades the City of Los Angeles is finally poised to see the return of the NFL," he added. "With this settlement in place, the project can move forward to spur job creation and offer an even more robust package of measures benefiting the community."

AEG was listed for sale in September by parent company Anschutz Co. The company is currently seeking to bring a football team to Los Angeles to play at Farmers Field. The stadium won't be built until a team has signed a lease at the stadium.